Promoting social justice through the transformation of the higher education sector

The University World News — Africa Education recently highlighted the critical need for South African universities to reinforce their commitment to social justice. 

Ylva Rodny-Gumede, of the University of Johannesburg, argued that higher education institutions must better prepare students by fostering a comprehensive understanding of democracy, community and global engagement, and strategies for addressing common societal challenges. 

By instilling these values, they can play a pivotal role in promoting solidarity and unity, ensuring that students are not only equipped with academic knowledge, but also prepared to contribute to society’s broader challenges in meaningful ways.

In a similar vein, Clarissa Bourdeau from Scholars at Risk emphasised the need to build higher education systems grounded in principles such as equitable access, institutional autonomy, social responsibility, accountability and academic freedom. These principles, she argues, are fundamental for the transformation of the higher education sector. 

Both scholars advocate for integrating social justice into the fabric of higher educational institutions as they respond to pressing global issues, including climate change and the call for a just transition and multifaceted crises (or polycrises). 

These arguments reflect a long-standing belief in the higher education sector that universities are more than just academic institutions; they are spaces where critical citizenship is nurtured, where democracy is advanced and where education serves the public good.

Scholars focused on social justice have long exposed the persistent inequalities within South Africa and the broader Southern African Development Community region. These manifest in numerous areas including food insecurity, child malnutrition, inadequate healthcare, housing shortages, youth unemployment, gender-based violence, the uneven impacts of climate change, limited access to quality education, racism, sexism and human rights violations. 

These issues, which touch the lives of millions, require a comprehensive and multi-disciplinary approach. Scholars examining these problems come from diverse academic backgrounds, further emphasising the need for interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary solutions to address such wide-ranging and interconnected challenges. 

Given the complexity and the scope of these social problems, the higher education sector is increasingly viewed as a key player in generating the knowledge required to offer viable pathways toward resolution. In this context, universities have a crucial role to play in developing the research and thought leadership that lead to actionable solutions.

The Canon Collins Trust has played a significant role in supporting social justice-related scholarship in Southern Africa for over 40 years. Throughout this period, the trust has supported 4 500 scholars with the expectation that they would actively contribute to the transformation of their societies. 

With its renewed and reimagined focus on social justice, the trust recognises that providing scholarships is one of the most important ways to address systemic inequalities and to promote equitable access to higher education. By embedding social justice into its core mission, it argues that knowledge creation, scholar activism and ethical leadership are not only supported but are integral to its mission. 

These elements are central to confronting systemic injustices, promoting social mobility and fostering advocacy for positive change. This approach is vital in building inclusive leadership and diverse human capabilities, ensuring that future leaders have the tools to build a fairer, more compassionate, just and inclusive society.

For universities to effectively tackle injustice, they must be seen as firmly embedded in society, rather than separate from it. Traditionally, universities have often been viewed as academic spaces (ivory towers) that operate above or outside the social and political systems of their respective societies. 

However, in reality, they are intrinsically linked to the social and political environments in which they operate. Universities must, therefore, recognise their deep connection to the social and political realities of their communities and their role in addressing the crises those communities face. 

This acknowledgment requires a significant shift in how universities view their mission. To effectively contribute to society, they must actively engage with their surroundings and reimagine their curricula, research agendas and institutional structures to better respond to the social demands of the day. By adopting this more expansive role, universities can enhance the relevance of the knowledge they produce and contribute more effectively to addressing the social injustices that persist in their societies.

Recognising the need for a more collaborative approach, the trust is advocating for transformative and sustainable social justice through the creation of a social justice alliance. This would bring together public higher education institutions and civil society organisations across Southern Africa with the aim of addressing the region’s most pressing social justice challenges. 

The trust envisions this alliance implementing a transdisciplinary social justice programme that would support the development of a new generation of socially engaged scholars. These would be committed to transformative activities that address the diverse and complex challenges faced by Southern African communities.

As part of this effort, the trust is formalising partnerships with universities in South Africa to establish an institution-wide research platform. This is seen as a mechanism to advance knowledge creation related to the major social problems that persist in post-apartheid South Africa and post-colonial Southern Africa. 

The platform could be awarded to a full professor at a partnering university but the trust also promotes and encourages cross-institutional collaboration in the scholarship of social justice, ethical leadership and socially engaged research. 

One of the key reasons for encouraging transdisciplinary knowledge creation and institutional collaboration is to define and implement a regional, systematic and unfragmented research agenda around social justice. This approach moves away from isolated efforts and instead fosters a more cohesive and sustained research strategy to address the region’s social justice challenges.

Informed by ongoing research related to social justice, the trust acknowledges the need to develop new and alternative visions and approaches to social justice, democratic citizenship and peace. Critical scholarship must focus on how to better understand and address the historical and socio-economic issues that continue to shape the region. The trust argues that addressing these challenges effectively requires transdisciplinary investigation and actions that cut across academic disciplines and societal sectors.

The research platform is encouraged to adopt a progressive research approach that centres on the idea that social policies and their implementation should support outcomes that seek to transform systems and strengthen the foundation of democratic states and societies. In doing so, it would focus on:

1. Addressing critical national issues: This includes examining the most pressing social justice challenges facing South Africa and the broader Southern African region.
2. Incorporating a range of disciplinary perspectives: Engage scholars from various disciplines to produce transdisciplinary theories and practices that can tackle complex social issues.
3. Employing a relational research approach: This would lead to a deeper understanding of how economic systems, political ideologies and social structures are interconnected and influence social justice issues.
4. Challenging narrow conceptions of science: Promote complementary research methods that challenge dominant frameworks in social research and encourage more innovative approaches.
5. Engaging a variety of players: Actively involve government bodies, civil society and community organisations in its research efforts to ensure that the knowledge produced has practical applications and speaks to diverse audiences.
6. Focusing on research with demonstrable possibilities: Encourage research that not only addresses “blue-sky” questions but also explores practical solutions to social justice problems.

The trust envisions that the research Platform in Social Justice, Ethical Leadership and Socially Engaged Scholarship will focus on several key areas, including:

• Developing a cadre of young academics through a structured programme of honours, master’s and doctoral studies, with a focus on research activities related to social justice.
• Supporting and conducting research to build and enhance the body of knowledge in the field of social justice, ensuring this research is connected with local and international networks.
• Publishing and disseminating research outputs through workshops, seminars, colloquia and other public discussions to engage a broad audience in the issues being studied.
• Building a wider network of research and development organisations to advance the understanding of social justice and find connections between social justice and other areas of social theory and practice.
• Engaging in a variety of scholarly activities, including publishing books, journal articles and advocacy material, while conducting public seminars, conferences and community workshops and producing media content, such as documentaries and popular writing.

By undertaking these activities, the platform will foster a more inclusive and comprehensive approach to social justice research. This approach aims to influence both policy and public discourse, making universities active contributors to the social transformation needed to address systemic injustices.

In summary, higher education institutions are crucial in creating transformative knowledge and addressing social justice issues. They provide a space for interdisciplinary collaboration, enabling a deeper understanding of complex societal challenges like inequality, racism and environmental justice. Universities also prepare future leaders who are not only experts in their fields but also committed to ethical leadership and social responsibility.

Through research, public engagement and partnerships with communities, universities can directly address real-world issues such as poverty, access to healthcare and climate change. They also serve as platforms for free speech and critical thought, holding power accountable and fostering important public debates on justice and human rights.

Additionally, universities must lead by example, ensuring their own practices promote equity and inclusion. By addressing internal disparities and committing to fair practices, they can better contribute to building a just society. 

In short, higher education institutions are essential in shaping a more equitable and inclusive world through knowledge, leadership, community engagement and promoting socially engaged scholarship.

Ivor Baatjes is the executive director of the Canon Collins Trust.